Christmas cookies

It’s snowing! I want nothing more than to go home, make a batch of cookies and some hot chocolate and hunker down until April… But there is work, and yoga and Christmas shopping and blogging!

First, thanks to everyone who participated in my giveaway! I have been trying to be a more active member of the blogging community lately and it has been really fun to meet and interact with all of Boston’s great bloggers. On Thursday afternoon, I wrote all the entries on a piece of paper and threw them in a coffee mug. I should probably have a more scientific way of doing this… any suggestions? And the winner is…

To me, cookies are about as integral to Christmas as trees and snow and family. I love them, but the only time of year that I seem to make them are during the holiday season. Probably because my sister, Chicky, isn’t into sweets and I have a hard time not eating everything in sight. When Christmas rolls around I have the perfect excuse for indulging my inner Cookie Monster, which as you see by my plate I had no problem doing.

The Cookie Swap gave me some incentive to try something new. Nothing like sharing your handiwork with a bunch of food bloggers to up your ante. Pioneer Woman’s Cookie Week post provided inspiration… a bit sad because I spend all year collecting recipes like this and this and I wind up making the last thing I saw. Sigh. I need to bake more. I need more people to bake for. Any requests out there? There’s something so satisfying about creaming butter and sugar, rolling dough and making your house smell delicious…

I knew as soon as I saw the words “Salted Caramel Thumbprint Cookie” that I had to make them. I’m having a love affair with salted caramel at the moment, and putting it on top of a piece of buttery shortbread seemed like a wonderful idea. It was. I almost yelled when I tried the first one, warm from the oven and oozing with salty sweet goodness. It was beyond my expectations. Sweet. Salty. Buttery. Gooey. Crisp. I don’t usually get so excited about things that I cook, but I can’t take any credit for these. It was less about my skills and more about my ability to follow directions.

I didn’t change anything about the recipe, so if you want to make them, please visit A Cozy Kitchen. Lots of other yummy looking stuff there too.

And then there was chocolate. Oh, Chocolate crinkle cookies, how have I gone my whole life without ever making you? You’re delicious. Easy. And so pretty! I wish my photos did you justice.

A few things I love about these:
– They look like Christmas, all sugar-dusted and pretty.
– You can make the dough ahead of time.
– Add mint or don’t. Your call.

I’m so glad I added them to the repertoire. The recipe (from Bakers Royale) will go in my recipe box, to be called upon in future years. You know you’ve made it when you make it to my recipe box.

A few notes about the recipe (which can be found here):
– The dough was much thinner than I thought it would be after I mixed it together. Don’t worry, it firms up in the fridge.
– These cookies spread a lot in the oven (at least mine did). So leave ample room between your dough balls or your cookie sheet will look like a cobblestone road.
– Use the best chocolate you can. It will make a huge difference.

Like this:

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LARA TOTALLY WINS EVERYTHING! :P Glad you had fun at the cookie swap! Those caramel cookies were fantastic and now I want more! I made homemade caramels over the weekend…. Hoping to try them tonight, we’ll see how they set… I’m hoping they are as good as the caramel on your cookies. *crosses fingers and wishes*

I saw those salted caramel thumbprints in someone else’s pictures from the swap and was wondering who made them. They look incredible! I’ve been making lots of caramel things lately… I think I’m on a kick.